greenery

Ali and Chase - 06/03/17

Ali and Chase were another of my long distance planning couples. I met them a few weeks before their wedding to go over final details and enjoy a bottle of wine. I am SO obsessed with the vision we came up with, and I think you definitely will be too!

Ali carried a bouquet of white peonies, white roses, white anemone, blush roses, blush lisianthus, and succulents. 

The bridesmaids carried bouquets of white peonies, white roses, white spray roses and blush roses. It was a scorcher out but this bridal party totally rocked it!

The real star of the bridal party was their dog, Boomer. When I saw they were bringing Boomer up for pictures, I knew I needed to make sure he fit in with his parents. I sent Ali a picture of a dog collar of greens and asked if I could make that for him. Turns out, he loved it! And isn't he the cutest?!

We chose great pew ends of white roses, blush roses, blush lisianthus, white spray roses, white waxflower, dusty miller and silver dollar eucalyptus. The pew ends were later used as centerpieces at the reception. 

The other tables had tall centerpieces of white hydrangea, white roses, blush roses, blush lisianthus, white spray roses, and silver dollar eucalyptus. Huge shoutout to my mom, who came over and helped me make the tall centerpieces!

Their cake was covered in a collection of roses. I got to eat some of it as I was tearing down the reception late at night and it was as delicious as it was beautiful!

Ali found some really amazing lanterns that we used around the reception. The place card/guest book table had a large lantern and 4 small vases in the center. Ali has a great eye for design and we came up with so many cool pieces for the reception. 

A few months before the wedding, Ali sent me this incredible photo from Pinterest for something she wanted to do for the head table.

Image from Pinterest

Image from Pinterest

I quickly became obsessed with coming up with something totally awesome for their 38ft head table. There were a lot of (terrible) sketches and flower math. I seriously LOVE what we came up with! The table was covered in a wild garland with a variety of candles down the entire length. In the center, there was a large statement piece. There were a total of 7 arrangements down the table, getting smaller as it got further from the center. We used 2 sets of lanterns at the base of the table as well. I feel so blessed that she let me create something this magnificent.

Are you as obsessed as I am? I love being able to keep up to date with Ali and Chase via snapchat. One of my favorite weekend activities is now watching snaps of Boomer beg for pancakes. I would be a sucker for that face too!

Thank you SO much to Ali and Chase for trusting me with their gorgeous wedding! They were so wonderful to work with. I wish them all the best for their future!

 

Elly and Nathan - 11/04/16

Elly is one of my brides that I didn't meet before her wedding due to them living out of town. I actually didn't meet her until the day after the wedding but we clicked from the very first phone call. Elly worked in the hotel industry so she's been around a ton of weddings and has a great eye for design!

Even though they got married in November, the weather was absolutely perfect! The wedding and reception were at Isle of Capri in Bettendorf but I'm glad they got a chance to go outside for pictures. 

The bouquets were white peonies, white roses, blush spray roses, baby's breath and silver dollar eucalyptus. Peonies are really rare in November and they did not want to open for me, but they turned out so lovely and perfectly on trend. 

The reception featured greenery, gold terrariums and tons of candlelight. It was a really romantic and trendy vibe. 

On half of the tables, there were triangle terrariums with ruscus and baby's breath around the base. On the other half, there were hexagon terarriums with roses, spray roses and eucalyptus around the base. 

The real showstopper was the ceremony backdrop that Elly and I spent months deciding what to do. It was truly stunning and one of my favorite pieces I've created. 

The design featured a variety of sizes of cylinder vases with flowers and candles. From the top down, the flowers were dendrobium orchids, white hydrangea, white carnations, blush spray roses and the small gold vased arrangements double purposed as the centerpieces for the parents' tables. 

Top images - Giraffe Photography , Bottom images - pinterest photos from bride

Top images - Giraffe Photography , Bottom images - pinterest photos from bride

After many discussions and email threads, Elly sent me the photos on the bottom and asked to do something similar. I'm obsessed with what we came up with. Our biggest issue is what we were going to sit all the vases on. We wanted the candles to really dance and sparkle so we didn't want to just use a table. We considered huge mirrors, but one this size would have run hundreds of dollars and that was out of the budget. We landed on using the glass top from my entertainment center! Never underestimate the use of random objects around the house. 

Since the wedding, Elly has started a business of her own. Lattz Travel Group focuses on romantic vacations such as honeymoons and anniversary trips. Elly is a delight so if you need help planning a honeymoon, you should check her out!

I loved working with Elly and Nathan for their special day and have been lucky enough to keep in touch via FB. I hope they continue to live a blessed and happy life together!

 
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Bridal Expo 2017

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Almost a year ago, I decided that I would participate in the Jaycee's Bridal Expo the following January. I spent the next year scrolling through Pinterest and coming up with ideas and plans for what I wanted to do. I'm sure some of my friends and family are tired of listening to me talk about those plans, but this past weekend, I got to put those plans in to action! 

Image by Cadenza Photo Imaging Whiskey barrels rented from Gracefully Vintage Events

Image by Cadenza Photo Imaging 
Whiskey barrels rented from Gracefully Vintage Events

With ombre color schemes and greenery everywhere, and my love of bling/glitter, I came up with a garden glam theme for the booth. I had a vision for what I wanted. I wanted greens and pink everywhere. I wanted a big statement piece to draw people in and I wanted to do social media promos to get my name out a little more. 

I attached brochures and business card magnets to flowers that we passed out. Brides could take a photo with their ring and promote it on social media to win a discount on their wedding.

Image by Cadenza Photo ImagingBrochures designed by Leesa Dykstra Designs

Image by Cadenza Photo Imaging

Brochures designed by Leesa Dykstra Designs

The other thing I knew I wanted to do was to build a flower wall. You may have seen flower walls in celebrity weddings and all over Pinterest, and I knew I wanted it. I had a family friend build the structure for me and recruited my brother for help on the math on how many flowers to order. This wall is full of about 1500 carnations and took 3 people 5.5 hours hours to construct on site. It was the perfect showstopper piece I had been dreaming of! Flower walls are definitely an investment, but would be great for a photobooth or behind the head table at your wedding. This wall is a little over 7 feet tall and 4 feet wide. It is in 2 panels so you can use it to frame something or only use half if you want the drama it brings, without as big of an expense. The wood frame can be painted or stained any color to match your decor. 

We used this flower wall as another social media promotion, encouraging girls to take a picture with the wall and our sign to win a discount on their flowers. Our promotion side had a garland of greens around it with floral details on top. 

 

2 lucky girls won $300 off their wedding, and 2 lucky girls won $100 off their wedding! Check out the winners!

Hashtag sign by Craft Savy

Hashtag sign by Craft Savy

I had a custom Snapchat filter designed for extra fun! I had it available Friday and Saturday throughout the entire River Center. 

Snapchat filter by Leesa Dykstra Designs

Snapchat filter by Leesa Dykstra Designs

Snapchat Filter by Leesa Dykstra Designs

Snapchat Filter by Leesa Dykstra Designs

We displayed a cube system with centerpiece examples in all the spaces, and a variety of bouquets on top. I wanted to showcase a number of different styles to try to appeal to brides with all different styles. 

Image by Cadenza Photo Imaging

Image by Cadenza Photo Imaging

The other side of the booth had a table set up like a dinner table with a large centerpiece, 2 box arrangements, 2 spray rose mound arrangements and a lush garland down the length of the table. It had chairs with custom Mr. and Mrs. wood signs with floral details 

Image by Cadenza Photo ImagingChairs from Laladoodles BoutiqueWood signs by Craft Savy

Image by Cadenza Photo Imaging

Chairs from Laladoodles Boutique

Wood signs by Craft Savy

I was on vacation from Claire's last week, but logged about 60 hours of labor prepping for this show and it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I literally couldn't have done it without the help from family and friends with setup, tear down and running my booth. 

Photo by Cadenza Photo Imaging

Photo by Cadenza Photo Imaging

This booth was everything that I have ever dreamed of and more! I would be lying if I said I didn't tear up when I stepped back and saw it all finished. We were absolutely slammed all day! There was a line to get in my booth almost the entire day. 

SO many people texted me to wish me luck and have been supportive of me during this time. I am thankful for everyone's kind words and well wishes. 2016 was a great year and 2017 is looking like its going to be even better! I have 24 weddings booked for 2017 so far. Here's to many more!

We ran out of flyers with our promos on them so I wanted to make sure I listed them here as well!

Any wedding booked before Valentine's Day is eligible for savings!

- Weddings under $1000 receive $50 off

- Weddings under $2000 receive $100 off

- Weddings under $3000 receive $150 off

- Weddings over $3000 receive $200 off

I have 24 weddings booked for 2017 so far. Here's to many more!